


Devil's Advocate

by prkjhyngs (jaesbrian)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A - Freeform, F/M, Fanfic, Give, Horcruxes, IT - Freeform, JUST, chance, please, tomriddle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27668284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaesbrian/pseuds/prkjhyngs
Summary: 'Hundreds of pairs of eyes bore into her, but she only catches one set in return. Riddle. Somehow even in the midst of a bounty of beady globes, Riddle's merciless, almond eyes still managed to be the only ones that she could settle her gaze upon.'orVanya Hendrix seems to be blind on why she has been re-sorted, but a particular handsome prefect seems to have a clue.
Relationships: Clarence Avery/Original Female Characters, Tom Riddle/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Devil's Advocate

The clock in the Great Hall ticks seven p.m. The room is silent. There is an abundance of abnormalities amongst the line-up of new students that are to be sorted this year, but the most obvious of those is the fifth-year girl dressed in Hufflepuff robes whose head rises above all of the twelve-year-old students'. What was about to occur was unheard of: she was going to be re-sorted. Headmaster Dippet had outright refused when the Hat had suggested it, insisting that: "It had never happened before, and it need never happen again," but the Hat had harped on so tediously that eventually a professor was ordered to collect her from her table.

Vanya Hendrix is filled with pure dread as she steps onto the stage. The hall has fallen into an unsettling quietness and every head is turned her way as the Hat is placed atop of her head. Hundreds of pairs of eyes bore into her, but she only catches one set in return. Riddle. Somehow even in the midst of a bounty of beady globes, Riddle's merciless, almond eyes still managed to be the only ones that she could settle her gaze upon. It was a dangerous game meeting eyes with Tom Riddle, although 'danger' was not a word that most people would associate with the boy. If you were ever to hear his name mentioned in conversation (which it often was), you would be much more likely to hear 'handsome' or 'intelligent' used to describe the boy. It was true that Tom seemed like a needle in a haystack: one, puny wizard at a school filled with thousands of students who could easily match his talents. But the thing was, nobody matched his talents. Tom Riddle was unopposed, and perhaps that was what was so threatening about him.

"An interesting case," the Sorting Hat muses, "this is the first time I have ever had to re-sort a student." Vanya manages a feeble laugh, hoping it will disguise the terror that she feels bubbling up within her stomach. She wants to ask why, but her words catch in her throat and ultimately fail her.

"There is no need to be nervous. You are going to play an important part in the life of this school, Hendrix, and I must allow you to access the resources that you will require to complete this task." Imperative? Resources? She doesn't think that she has ever heard the Sorting Hat actually make sense, let alone sound so distinguished, and judging by the bemused expressions that her peers hold, neither have they. The Sorting Hat doesn't skip a beat before its booming voice fills the hall.

"Slytherin!"

Slytherin? No. She thinks that she must have heard wrong, but the whispers resonating through the hall assure her that she has not. The girl remains on the wooden chair as if frozen still until Professor Merrythought utters a charm that has her robes adjusted and ushers her off of the stage. She moves sluggishly towards the Slytherin table. It is only after she is seated that she once again finds Riddle's eyes locked on her. After a moment of intense staring, he finally drags his hawkish gaze from her and back to watch the remainder of the Sorting Ceremony.

The stiff looks that she is receiving from her new housemates only reassure her that this is not the house where she belongs. Her gut tells her that something is terribly off with the Sorting Hat's decision, but what is she supposed to do exactly? Get up there and demand that the Hat change its mind? What a preposterous idea. Vanya's blood chills at the thought of it. Slytherin. She had heard nothing but bad things about the house, and she knows that her parents will not approve of her new sorting. Well, her parent.

Vanya's mother had passed away when she was young, but she had still managed to grow up with her father. Her father had been a Gryffindor: the most courageous man she'd ever known, and the loyal husband who had watched his wife slowly deteriorate and sat by her side without failure for three years. And then there was her mother. She dreamt of one day becoming the lady that her father spoke so kindly of. A Hufflepuff. And here she was: dressed head to toe in sickly green silk. It nauseated her to know that she would never become the one woman that her father wanted her to be.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Hendrix. I'm Avery. Clarence Avery," the boy next to her speaks in a whimsical tone, and her eyes instantly flick up to meet his, unwavering, "We don't usually get girls this pretty in Slytherin, so it's brilliant to meet you." He sticks out his hand to her, positively beaming from ear to ear, and Vanya accepts it with her own sturdy shake, which feels as if it might snap the boy's frail hands in half. She takes this time to let her eyes wash over him. Her first observation of the Slytherin is that even sitting down, he is tall. She pegs him for about six foot, but there's no muscle about him. Avery is gangly. He looks awkward as if he's been placed somewhere that he doesn't belong, but she assumes it can't be helped. Vanya racks up to five foot six on a good day, and even she has trouble fitting her knees underneath the table.

Clarence Avery is pale, with red-rimmed eyes, but there's something about him that is undoubtedly handsome. His hair is a shiny, mousy brown, that's middle-parted and gelled down in a manner that seems to mimic that of Tom Riddle's own hairstyle. He is clean-shaven, and although smart looking, his tie hangs loosely around his neck and she can see that his sleeves have been rolled up to just below his elbows. She supposes the Slytherin girls would be running rings around him if it weren't for the infamous Riddle. Vanya can't help but feel her cheeks flush at the comment, but she'd rather die than let it show. She wasn't giving up this easy. No way.

"You flatter me, Avery. It's Vanya, by the way. And it's great to meet you too." Her newfound friend rubs his hands together, as if in an attempt to incite some warmth in them, and he frowns up at her, "Forgot my robes this year. It's embarrassing, really. We've been here five years now and I can't even remember to pack my bloody uniform." Brilliant. So he was funny. For a Slytherin, this Avery kid seemed to be alright. Shame she couldn't yet say that for the rest of the bunch. She laughs but is cut short by the booming voice of Headmaster Dippet. Avery looks towards the stage, and Vanya follows suit.

"Prefects, can you please remain behind as to prepare for the tour of the castle. The rest of you, as long as you are not first years, are dismissed."

"You're not a prefect, are you?" the girl whispers to Avery, who shakes his head in response.  
"No. Fifth-year prefects are Lestrange and Riddle. I applied, but I think we all knew who was going to get it from the beginning." Vanya senses malice in his tone, which she is sure is not uncommon amongst the Slytherin boys, "What? Do you not like Riddle and Lestrange?" She could understand if he didn't. From the little things she understood about Tom Riddle, he seemed to be unbearable but at the same time irresistible.

"Oh no, Reinhard is one of my closest friends. Really happy for the bloke. I just don't think Riddle was the right choice, that's all. There's something off about him." Avery purses his lips, and she feels that the conversation will not go much further, yet she pushes him anyway.

"Off? In what kind of way?" Vanya cocks her head to the side with a sense of innocence, hoping her coy tone will be enough to ease the information out of Avery. He only shakes his head, "I don't know. Let's get going; I'll show you to the common room." Avery gets to his feet, pushing up his sleeves further and stepping to the side as he waits for the girl to follow after him. Her eyes bore into the back of Riddle's head as she watches him make his way to the front of the hall, and a new, fresh-faced and blonde-haired boy scoffs from beside her, "Yeah, like that's going to happen. Get your eyes off Riddle before he absolutely shatters your heart, and probably your skull as well. You're nothing special to him, new girl, I promise you."

Vanya feels her gut fill with fury. Who did this boy think he was, and why should he care whether or not she was looking Riddle's way. Before a single word had left her mouth, Avery had stepped forward, "Merlin's beard, Malfoy. Never know how to keep your nose out of other people's business, do you? Where Hendrix puts her eyes has got absolutely nothing to do with you. All I know is that they're definitely never going to be on you, mate." And with that, Vanya decides that Clarence Avery is most definitely a boy that she wants to stick around with.

The walk to the common room is entertaining enough. Avery fills her in on all of the Slytherin gossip, most of which included the boy that Vanya had come to know as Reinhard Lestrange. He was black-haired, muscular, and only a few inches shorter than Avery, and it seemed to her that he was almost as loved by the ladies as Riddle. The difference between Lestrange and Reinhard, though, was that Reinhard acknowledged his posse of fangirls (although Avery had insinuated that he had done much more than acknowledge them). By the time they arrive outside the dungeons, Vanya is sure that she simply cannot listen to another word from Avery's mouth.

"I'm going to head up to the boy's dorm and see if Reinhard's back yet. Have a good night, Hendrix, and don't get yourself into any trouble." Avery's lips curl into an affectionate smile, revealing two deep dimples within his flushed cheeks.

"Goodnight, Avery. I'll see you in the morning."

Clarence trods up the stairs, and Vanya is left alone in the common room.

Until she's not.


End file.
